Skraastad, by contrast, is a fresh, zesty breeze as Lizzie, with an affecting emotional range and genuine wit. John Judd is likewise funny and a little heartbreaking as the patriarch, H.C., who is as intuitive as Noah is relentlessly logical.

Tug Coker is a taciturn treat as File, the local deputy who has an eye for Lizzie but is loath to be bulldozed into marrying again. And how fun is it to see Culture Clash co-founder Herbert Siguenza on the Globe stage, as the wry Sheriff Thomas? (Answer: Very.)

As Lizzie’s younger brother Jim, though, Kyle Harris just about waltzes off with every scene he’s in. The shaggy-haired actor actually looks a bit like a young Dylan, and he makes his guileless, excitable character the comic equivalent of a cloudburst.

And if the show (with smartly detailed costumes by Katherine Roth and a well-calibrated sound design by Bart Fasbender) pours it on a little thick at the end — again, pretty literally — the skill involved in this production still helps wash away a sense of artifice.